Ocean Waves
by FullmetalShortStack
Summary: True love always finds a way. Mermaid!Sam. SamxDanny. Fluff and Sarcasm. My two best subjects. Two-Shot!
1. Chapter 1

_Hey guys! I'm trying to get my requests finished. I'm sorry this one has taken so long, but it's going to be done soon! This is Part 1! Part 2 should be up by tomorrow if all goes as plan. I've had some work delays, unfortunately. This is a mermaid story, but it's all kind of Little Mermaidish. So that means seashell bras and the whole nine yards! :)_

 ** _Disclaimer:_** _I'm not Butch Hartman..._

 _-Ash_

* * *

Samantha frequently showed interest in the human world, no matter how much it displeased her parents. The raven haired mermaid had always been much different than the rest of her family. Being the heir to the thrown of Atlantis wasn't something she was looking forward to what so ever. Samantha knew there was so much more to the world than swimming circles within the boundaries of her parents' kingdom. Although, that didn't stop them from trying to prevent her from leaving.

When she was younger she swam to her favorite hide-out near the ocean shore. The princess knew that this was the only place she could be herself while being alone. She could never be who she wanted around her parents, and she didn't have any real friends. The only merfolk that spoke to her were their advisors and the occasional young lady who wanted to be her "friend" for the perks. Samantha grew tired of being used. She wanted someone to like her for who she was, not for the titles. It was a sad fate for a mermaid of only twelve years old.

The mermaid found herself swimming into uncharted territory near her hide out when she saw it. A gigantic ship floating on the ocean in the distance. Her childish curiosity won out. She slowly approached a rock to spy on the vessel from a safe, remote area. Samantha knew if she was discovered her parents would feed her to the sharks.

Not literally.

But a form of house arrest was a possibility.

She propped herself on the rock before gazing at the new discovery. What did humans do with those things? Why didn't they just swim if they wanted to travel through water?

Samantha felt herself being enticed by the parade of colors that shimmered from the ship. She couldn't help but want to investigate more.

As she got closer, she immediately noticed that something in the water was different. A storm. A storm was approaching, and suddenly she felt dread wash over her young body. She swam towards the vessel with concern as the wind began to pick up speed. That's when she saw the boy with raven black hair and eyes as blue as the sky. She gazed at him in awe of the sight of an actual human before her. The young boy didn't seem to notice her.

The water began to splash angrily against the boat as the waves became heavier from the impending storm. Samantha stared at the boy who seemed amused by the ocean's thrashing. He watched at the water as the curiosity in his eyes mirrored that of her own.

What surprised both children was the sudden wave that picked up and rocked the boat, knocking it from side to side. The boy was jerked and held on to the side for support. His eyes widened in obvious panic as the boat continued to shift. Another massive wave and he was sent flying over the edge. The boy gripped the side of the ship tightly as he held on for his life.

"Danny!" a voice screeched as another young lady approached him. She grabbed his wrists in an attempt to pull him back up, but she wasn't strong enough to lift his weight.

"Jazz, I'm slipping!" the boy cried as his fingertips began to slip from the wooden side.

The elder girl tried to hold her grip on him, but her own hands were betraying her as she couldn't keep her grasp. "Help us," she screamed.

No one came in time. His fingers slipped from hers. The girl watched him fall from her hands, and immediately retreated to find help. As he plummeted towards the water Samantha quickly made her move.

She dived after the boy as he hit the ocean. He flailed in the water with panic as he thrashed his arms about and tried to get back above the water. The mermaid grabbed him by the shoulders as his body fell limp. She shook the boy before her but noticed his movements stopped. Her eyes widened with panic, and she yanked the boy with her up to the surface. Samantha surged through the water with the quickest speed she could muster. She dragged herself and the boy up to the sand with all the strength she had.

The young mermaid stared expectantly at the boy. Was he okay?

Suddenly, she was startled by his coughing. Samantha gazed at the human wide eyed as he choked up the water that had filled his lungs.

His eyelids fluttered open as consciousness returned to him. The boy sat up with a groan before he came to his senses. It was then the child realized exactly who had saved him. He blinked in confusion. "You're a…"

"A mermaid."

He blinked again. "Yeah."

Samantha ran a hand through her dark hair as she shyly glanced away. "Are you okay now?"

The boy gave a curt nod. "I think so," he said as he still stared at the mermaid before him.

"Good."

He gaped at her a moment as if there was something sitting on his tongue. The boy sucked in a breath before gathering his courage. "You know English?"

She gave a nod. "Mermaid can speak any language. As soon as you talked, I knew what language you were saying."

"Huh, that's cool," he stared at her before arching a brow. "Say, what's your name?"

"Samantha," she chimed with a tilt of her head.

He held out a hand to her. "I'm Danny."

She glanced down at his outstretched hand with confusion. The mermaid chewed her lip. "Um…"

Danny snorted. "You take it."

She grabbed his hand and yanked.

"Ow! Not rip my arm off!" He pulled his arm back and brought her hand to his lips. He pressed a kiss to her knuckle with a small smile. "That's how royalty properly greets a lady. Or at least, that's what my sister said."

Samantha cocked her head in confusion. "Huh? How'd you know I was a princess?"

"I didn't—I said royalty because I'm a prince."

Her jaw dropped in surprise. "You don't look like a prince."

"Gee, thanks," he said with a roll of his eyes.

She covered her mouth in remorse. "Oh, sorry. I didn't try to sound mean," she pulled her hands away from her face and leaned over towards him. "You just don't look anything like the princes from Atlantis."

"Most princesses around here don't have fish tails either," he retorted.

Samantha giggled at his quip. "You're funny, Danny."

"Why thank you," he replied with a laugh.

She gazed at him before her lips turned up with a smile. "We should be friends."

"Of course. Does that mean I get to call you 'Sam' for short? I like to give my friends nicknames."

"Sure," she beamed.

"I think I see shadows over this way," a voice called from down the shoreline.

The mermaid swung her head quickly towards the sound before turning back to the boy before her. She placed a finger on his lips. "They can't know about me."

He grabbed her hand that was pressed against his mouth and took her pinky in his own. "Promise. Meet me here tomorrow when the sun is at its highest."

She nodded hastily before she took off back towards the water.

Finally. Someone who wanted to like her for who she was.

* * *

 _6 Years Later…_

"Sam!" the prince called as he approached their usual hiding place.

She leaned up against the rock and popped her head above the stone to see Danny running in her direction. He waved his arms at her earning a chuckle from the mermaid.

"Quit that before you draw attention to us."

He let out an exhausted huff from his run with a forced laugh. "Sorry, I was trying to make sure you saw me."

"I did."

Danny took her hand into his and gently kissed her fingers. "You'll have to forgive me."

"We'll see," she scoffed.

The young man gave a chuckle before gazing out at the ocean before him. "Shall we go for a swim?"

Sam cocked a brow at him. "You're not going to be swept away by the current again, are you? Rescuing you all the time is a pain."

"But you love me too much to let me drowned," he cooed.

She crossed her arms with an agitated sigh. "You keep saying that I love you, but I don't recall such a thing ever leaving my mouth."

"It's okay, I can sense your bottled up passion for me."

"Pfft, as if."

He grinned at her. "C'mon now, let's go!" Danny stripped off his shirt and galloped into the water with a splash of his arms.

"I'm serious! Don't get hurt again!" she called from the rock as she watched his antics.

His head barely bobbed above the water. "Oh nooo, I'm sinkinggg…" he drawled as he floated up and down.

Sam scooted off the rock into the water. "You know, you're going to be like the boy who cried wolf. I'm not going to save you because I'll think you're joking."

"I think I should save you for a change."

She giggled as she approached him. "From what? Land sharks?"

"Har, har, very funny. Almost get eaten by a shark _one_ time, and now you have to bring it up at all times," he snarked with a roll of his eyes.

Sam let out a groan. "Maybe because you were almost _eaten_ by a _shark_. That could be the reason. You really just don't have much luck with the ocean, do you?"

"I got lucky enough to find a beautiful mermaid from the ocean."

Her eyes widened as a pale blush dusted her cheeks. "If I recall I don't think there was any 'finding me', I'm pretty sure I saved your butt then too."

Danny growled and lightly splashed her. "Yeah, okay, so maybe my ocean luck isn't the best." He cupped a hand under her chin, forcing her gaze to bore into his. "But maybe that's why you need to join me on land."

She sighed. "Danny, you know I can't. My parents can't even know I've spoken to a human, let alone been friends with one since I was young. There's no way that my father would use his power to let me on land. Ever."

"But he should. I could talk to him?" Danny asked with a shrug.

Sam cocked a brow. "Do you have a death wish?"

He cupped her cheek. "If it's for you, it's worth it."

She shook her head. "No. It's not. I can't lose you. This is how things have to be for now. There's nothing we can do to change it. That's what I've told you for years, Danny. It doesn't matter what our feelings are. We're from two different worlds that can't collide."

"So you admit it."

The mermaid gave a confused tilt of her head. "What?"

"That you have feelings for me."

"Ugh, you're impossible."

* * *

Danny strode down the seemingly infinite hallways of the palace to arrive at his room quickly. He had been caught by his father's advisor when sneaking out to see Sam recently, so now he was on careful alert when he went to visit. The prince hadn't told her of the ordeal to prevent her from worrying, but there was always the chance that he would be unable to escape his bodyguards.

It was a bit worrying that recently his advisor had shown a lot of interest in the beach. The man hated the sun, so it was strange. He was rather intent on following Danny when he went to visit Sam. The prince had noticed the odd behavior, and was more worried when the man dropped a question about the existence of mermaids.

"Daniel."

The prince's hair stood on end as he spun on his heel to face the voice behind him. "Y-Yes?"

His father's advisor clasped his hands together, and his shoes clicked as he marched towards the young man. "Where have you been, my boy? We've been searching for you."

"I've just been out for a morning walk through the palace, Mr. Masters. Sorry to worry you," Danny lied smoothly with a fake smile.

The man stared at the boy with narrow eyes. "I see. From now on it'd be much appreciated if you would let the staff know where you're going from now on. That is, unless, you don't want us to know where you're going?"

The prince let out a scoff. "Why would I have anything to hide?"

"I don't know. Why don't you tell me?"

"But I have nothing to say."

"Daniel."

" _Vlad._ "

The elder man's nostrils flared as he glared at the prince. "Why don't you stay in your room until you can learn some respect? And from now on you will be watched for as long as I see fit."

Danny smirked and crossed his arms. "I don't think you really have a say in those types of orders. Unless you plan on going to my father and tattle telling on me, which you won't because you're too curious as to where you apparently think I'm going every day."

Vlad gripped the front of the prince's shirt. "You and I both know where you're going every day, Daniel."

"Prove it."

The man's face morphed into a terrifying grin that almost made Danny back down.

Almost.

"I may have to take you up on that offer, little badger."

The prince snarled. "If you hurt her…"

"You'll what? Tell your parents that you've been running off every day to flirt with a mermaid? That's hardly a believable story. You and I both know that this palace will be mine, and there's nothing you can do about it. If you try to interfere then you can say goodbye to the fish girl, is that clear?"

"Crystal," he growled.

Footsteps from down the hall caused the advisor to quickly release the prince. He patted his shoulder with a smirk. "I know you'll make the right choice, won't you?"

"Of course," Danny replied through gritted teeth.

With one last sly grin, Vlad turned away as his shoes clicked with every step he took. Danny felt his blood boil with clack. The prince balled his hands tightly into fists as he watched the advisor calmly walk away.

Suddenly, Danny flinched when he felt something touch his shoulder. He whipped his towards the feeling to see his best friend standing beside him. The young man, Tucker, worked in the garden of the palace. He and Danny met as children while Tucker's parents had worked at the palace for years.

Tucker cocked a brow at him with curiosity. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," the prince murmured.

"You don't sound fine."

Danny groaned as he glanced at his friend. The prince stomped his foot in frustration. "I just can't stand that man."

"Mr. Masters?"

"Yes! He just threatened me!" Danny exclaimed as he ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

Tucker reared back in surprise. " _Threatened_ you? Threatened you how?"

"I-I can't tell you…" the prince mumbled as he gazed at the painting on the wall beside him.

He felt guilty for being unable to tell his friend the truth. But maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea for someone to know what was going on.

Tucker stared at him. "I thought we told each other everything."

The prince let out a sigh. "Okay, I'll tell you, but we need to go somewhere private."

* * *

Sam glided through the water to reach her home. If she was late again then her parents might ground her for all eternity. When she reached her bedroom (which consisted of giant clams and seaweed), she was surprised to so her parents already waiting for her.

The mermaid glanced around nervously. "Did I do something?"

Jeremy glared at his daughter. "You think that we don't know where you've been? We know this entire ocean, Samantha! We simply had a few fish follow you."

"O-Oh," Sam felt her body slump.

The king narrowed his eyes at her. "How long have you been making googly eyes at a _human_?"

She chewed her lip thoughtfully. "Not long at all. We barely know each other."

Her mother scoffed at her. "From what we hear, it seems like you two know each other _very_ well. He even said you _loved_ him! How repulsive!"

"Mother, you don't understand. He really cares about _me,_ " Sam argued as she gestured to herself. "The real me. Who I really am that you two seem to not care about. You just want me to be this perfect mermaid princess that you put up on this pedestal. I hate it! I can't be who you want me to be!"

Her mother slashed the water with aggravation. "Samantha, you-"

"It's 'Sam' now. I've been going by Sam for a long time now. You just never cared to listen. I don't think you've even cared about me _. Ever._ "

Pamela gaped at her. "How dare you?"

The king slammed his scepter down with a snarl. "We will not be disrespected by you, young lady! You're getting married!"

"What!?" the princess screeched.

"That's right. Your father and I have arranged a marriage for you. We figured it would take your mind off the human boy," her mother added.

Sam's eyes bulged as she stared at them with disbelief. "You arranged a marriage in less than an hour? How long have you been planning this?"

"We always figured you'd marry Elliot, but we were going to wait until you were ready. We see now that you _are_ ready to fall in love, so we decided that it would be with someone we wanted," Jeremy explained.

Sam reared back with disgust. "Elliot? You're making me marry Elliot? That pompous, fake, son of a clam headed prince? How is he anywhere worthy enough for the throne?"

Pamela hummed sweetly at her daughter as she completely ignored her rage. "He is the only eligible bachelor that is of age for the thrown."

The princess groaned. "I'd rather die."

"Why are you so ungrateful for all your father and I have done for you?"

She flung her arms up. "Because none of this is for me! It's all for you! If you cared about what I wanted then you'd let me be with Danny, and just let Elliot take the throne! He really cares about the kingdom, and wants to do all these great things. I can't stand being here. Elliot's great at being royal because he's just as fake as you two are. You're so selfish."

"Sam, you're marrying Elliot and that's final. Also you will not be seeing this human boy ever again or else," the king threatened.

"Or else what? I'm already miserable enough as it is."

"We'll destroy their castle."

Sam scoffed at the statement. "Yeah, right. That's a little dark coming from you."

The king scowled. "I'll do whatever it takes to keep our kingdom safe from humans. They're responsible for the death of many merfolk because of those ships. They take our people for sport, and that's unacceptable."

"You'd hurt innocent people to punish me? Do you even hear yourself?"

"Follow orders and I won't have to."

The princess glared at her father before letting out a defeated sigh. "Fine."

"This is for your own good."


	2. Chapter 2

_So as you can see... things didn't go as planned. I had a family emergency come up that put all writing on hold. I managed to answer some messages on here, but that's about all I got to do on FF. So I feel like this is really rushed, and this had a lot of plot I was shoving into a two shot? But this is honestly the best scenario I could come up with for the idea I was given. I wanted to try to do some other kinda magic mambo, but it just wouldn't work. SO. ENJOY THIS MOSTLY DIALOGUE STORY? Because who has time for plot, right? I'm really sorry for this delay, but it was honestly out of my hands._

 _-Ash_

* * *

"You have a mermaid girlfriend?"

Danny shook his head as he sat down on his bed. "Not exactly. She doesn't consider us to be in a relationship or anything. I do though. I don't want to be with anyone but her. It's literally impossible though."

Tucker sighed. "You know how ridiculous this sounds, right?"

The prince nodded. "I didn't really expect you to believe me, Tuck. But basically if I don't let Vlad take the kingdom, then he's going to hurt Sam. I couldn't live with myself if that happened."

"Well I guess you wouldn't be this torn up about an imaginary girlfriend," the gardener replied with a shrug.

He perked his head up. "Does that mean you believe me?"

Tucker rolled his eyes. "It means I'll take your word for it, but I'm still skeptical."

Danny gave a grin. "That's all I need."

The teen scratched his chin in thought. "So how do you think Mr. Masters is going to try to steal the crown?"

The prince gave a shrug. "That's what I'm not sure about. Technically, I'm next in line for the throne unless Jazz finds a husband before I become of age…"

The two boys stared at each other as the processed Danny's words. They're facial expressions synchronized as their eyes widened. "Jazz!" Danny exclaimed.

Tucker held back his gag. "That old man is going to try to marry your sister? How creepy is that!?"

"He's such a crazed up fruit loop! How'd I never notice it before? That's why he always fraternizes with her. Oh, my God… he's so gross."

"Do you really think that Jazz would be desperate enough to marry him so that she could be queen? Does she want to be queen that badly?" Tucker asked with concern.

The prince chewed his lip with thought. "I never thought that it'd be that important to her. That is…unless someone convinces her she's doing the right thing. If Jazz thinks she's doing me a favor or the people a favor she'd do it in a heartbeat. She honestly _does_ deserve to be queen because she's so selfless."

"Now's not the time to think about what a great person your sister is. Now's the time to save her from being cradle robbed."

Danny let out an exasperated sigh. "You think of things in the worst way possible."

* * *

Sam curled herself up in the cove. She thrashed her tail sending bubbles floating upward towards the surface. The mermaid flopped back onto sand beneath her and allowed the cold soil to engulf her.

She was tired of her parents forcing their agenda on her. All she wanted was to be with Danny. He was the only one who truly understood who she was and who she wanted to be. The mermaid stared up at the sunlight that shimmered down into the ocean. She watched as aquatic creatures bobbed through water, and schools of fish soared past her. One fish seemed to sense her distress and strayed away from the pack. The creature placed a gentle kiss to Sam's forehead before returning to its group. She let out a bubbled sigh before rolling over in the sand.

"There you are. Your parents told me this is your hiding place."

Sam whipped her head towards the voice. "What do you want, Elliot?"

"I just want to understand why you hate me," the merman replied.

She let out an exasperated sigh. "I don't. I mean, you irritate me, but that's not the point. I just… I love someone else that my parents don't approve of so they're shoving this marriage on me."

Elliot snorted as he ran a hand through his light hair. "What, did you fall in love with a peasant?"

"Not exactly, but almost equivalent."

He let out a frustrated huff. "I'm sorry that I'm getting in the way of your life, but this isn't my choice either. I can't deny your parents' wishes."

Sam gazed at him. "I'd honestly rather just you run the kingdom, so I can be free."

"As 'great' as that sounds, it won't work. Your parents are adamant about your family line staying in power."

"But our family would be in power, but somewhere else."

He cocked a brow. "I'm not following."

"I'm in love with a human prince…"

* * *

Jazz sat cozy in the palace library as she stuffed her nose into a book. She flinched with surprise when she heard a thump before her. The princess gazed up to see her father's advisor with a wicked smirk plastered on his face. She cocked a brow at him and placed her book down into her lap. "Can I help you, Mr. Masters?"

"I was sent by your father to discuss some important matters with you," he replied as he pulled up a chair to sit in front of her.

Jazz marked her place in the book before setting it to the side. "What would Dad not want to talk to me about himself?"

"Well it has to do with Danny…"

She licked her lips with thought. "Again I ask, why can't my father tell me this himself?"

Vlad's brow twitched with irritation, an action that didn't go unnoticed by the princess. "It is a sensitive matter right now."

Jazz wasn't dumb. She knew something wasn't right. "Go on."

"Unfortunately there is a troubling situation brewing. It seems Danny is refusing to take the crown and will not be ready for the throne, but as he'll be coming of age soon you could see how that can be problematic," the advisor explained as he folded his hands in his lap.

Jazz cocked her head to show obvious confusion. "But Danny isn't turning 18 for another two years? What's this really all about?"

"They believe you need to take the throne, which means you need to find a husband."

The princess reared back in surprise. "What!? I-I mean I just—that's a bit surprising is all. Danny's a very good leader, so I don't quite understand why there would be any doubt that he would make an excellent king. He has two more years to mature. Couldn't I find a husband closer to time, if necessary?"

"Ah, no. It's very urgent," he responded quickly with a shift his eyes.

Jazz leaned back into her chair with aggravation. She crossed her arms and threw one leg over the other with a huff. "Is that so? So why don't you tell me what the plan is then, Mr. Masters?"

Vlad shrugged his shoulders. "Well, it may be drastic, but your father did make a slight suggestion to me."

"Such as?"

"An arranged marriage."

Jazz flew up out of her seat as if it had burned her. "To whom!?"

The advisor grinned. "Me."

* * *

Elliot stared at her agape. "You—made contact with a human?"

The mermaid rolled her eyes. "I saved his life when we were young and it went from there. My parents found out so now they're forcing our marriage upon us."

"Wow, no one has ever been brave enough to go to the surface. Kudos to you."

She scoffed. "I wish my parents had the same attitude."

He floated down next to her. "Hey, look. I am in love myself with a girl from the village, but my father would never let me live it down if I turned down an opportunity take the crown. But don't let me make you miserable. If you want to be with him then go. "

Sam cocked a brow at him. "And how is that supposed to work? He keeps his girlfriend in a fish tank?"

Elliot chewed his lip. "You really don't know, do you?"

"Know _what?_ "

"Samantha, if merpeople go onto the surface during the day we grow legs and keep them until the sun sets as long as we stay dry," he explained.

She shot her head towards him. "Are you _serious_?"

Elliot gave a nod. "Yes, and the legs become permanent if you're kissed by a human."

"Why has no one told me this!?"

"Your parents probably didn't see a need to tell you? But I know of a few merfolk who have left for the surface world. They end up staying because they're never welcomed back with open arms."

Sam placed a hand on his shoulder. "I leave the kingdom to you. I have to go find him."

"Good luck!" he called as she rocketed away through the water.

* * *

Danny dashed through the hallways of the castle. His attempts to find his sister in her room, the ballroom, and the kitchen had failed. The last place he could usually find her was the library, but that was on the opposite side of the palace. He had to find her before that creep did!

Suddenly all of the answers were right in front of him when he crashed right into said person he was searching for.

He rubbed his aching head as he sat up to face her. "Jazz! I've been trying to find you!"

She touched the tender spot forming on her forehead as she glared at him. "Yeah, well that makes two of us. How could you tell our parents that you don't want the crown?"

The prince climbed to his knees. He cocked his head in confusion. "What? I never told them that."

"According to Mr. Masters you did! And now I'm being forced into an arranged marriage with a man who is over twenty years older than me," she cried in frustration.

Danny stood and held out a hand to his sister. "No one is forcing you to do anything. Not if I have anything to say about it. I never denied the crown, Vlad is just trying to blackmail me and take the kingdom. He'll probably do away with us as soon as you marry him."

Jazz glowered at the ground as she took her brother's hand. "I figured as such," she grumbled. She blinked with confusion after she processed his words. "Wait, why would he try to blackmail you? And how?"

He pulled his sister to her feet as his cheeks flushed. "I may—have a secret, _sorta_ , girlfriend?"

"What!?" She grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Vlad found out about this— _girl_ I'm with. Now he is doing everything in his power to make sure I'm miserable and he takes the crown. He threatened to harm her."

The princess' hands flew up to her mouth. "I can't believe he'd do something so awful. What're we going to do?"

"Kick his ass?"

Jazz let out a snort. "Such language. Why don't we just go tell Mom and Dad?"

"But what if tries to hurt Sam?" Danny asked as his brows furrowed in concern.

The princess took a mental note of the girl's name that he had just let slip. She placed a comforting hand on her sibling's shoulder. "It'll be okay. We have plenty of guards to protect her. What could go wrong?"

He hissed at her response. "A lot more than you realize."

* * *

"Mom! Dad!" the royal children cried as they approached their parents' throne room.

Maddie's head perked up at the sound of the sibling's panicked voices. "What is it, you two?"

They both began speaking frantically at the same time. Neither of the parents could keep up with the chaos that spewed from their mouth.

"—and now Vlad wants to marry me!"

"—and now Vlad is trying to hurt this girl I like!"

"Woah, what?" Jack asked with a confused tilt of his head. "Danny, since when did you get a girlfriend?"

The queen stared at him with surprise before smacking him on the shoulder. "Did you not hear what Jazz said? That your advisor is trying to _marry_ her?"

He chewed his bottom lip. "Well that's news too—and kinda creepy."

"Extremely creepy!" the princess added in distress.

Maddie sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Okay, Jazz. Explain that all again, slowly. Danny, don't speak this time."

The prince chewed his cheek. "Fine."

"Okay, so Danny has this girl he likes and he wants to be with, but he can't," the princess eyed him. "Which he hasn't explained yet, but I guess it doesn't matter why right now. Anyway, Vlad found out about her and tried to ploy me into marrying him by threatening the girl Danny likes so that Danny will deny the crown."

"What? I can't believe Vladdy would do something so awful," the king said in surprise.

Danny flung his arms into the air. "Well he did! He threatened to harm someone in order to get the crown! He's completely crazy!"

"It seems that I have two blabber mouths to deal with now too."

The family looked up to see the advisor standing in the doorway. Danny felt his heart drop to his feet. "No. Don't."

"Daniel, I warned you of what would happen. I see that the mermaid isn't that important to you after all," Vlad sneered.

Jazz eyed her brother. "Mermaid…?"

"Stop. Don't hurt her! Please," the prince begged.

The advisor grinned cooly. "You made your choice, Daniel. All you had to do was let me take the crown, but instead you decided to risk it all. Very brave of you, but not selfless like I thought you were."

"I couldn't let you do this to Jazz," the boy retorted.

"I see, you chose your sister over the fish girl. It makes sense, but I'm still surprised," Vlad replied with a grin.

"We'll fight you. You won't take this kingdom, and you won't hurt Sam!"

His grin morphed into a deadly smirk. "We'll see about that."

In a flash, he was gone.

* * *

Sam soared through the water. She now knew the truth and had to get to Danny as quickly as possible. If she got to shore and kissed him before her parents could do anything then her fate was sealed. She wanted to be with him. That's all she cared about.

She reached their normal meeting place in hopes to at least see _something_ that could give her a hint as to where her prince may be. The mermaid eyed the beaches in search for the teen.

"Ah, so you're the one I've been looking for."

Sam flinched with a start at the unfamiliar voice. She turned to face the sound as her eyes widened with fear. The mermaid stared, unblinking, as she saw the malicious smile that split the silver haired man's face which immediately made her uneasy. "Who are you, and what do you want?"

He clasped his hands together. "I'm Vlad, the advisor to the king, and as of right now, your captor."

"What!?"

The advisor reached into the water and suddenly Sam's world went black.

* * *

Danny dashed out of the castle and out into the sand in search for the advisor. "I have to find Sam before he does," he murmured.

Unfortunately, he realized it was too late when he saw the advisor dragging a large sack across the beach. The prince growled as he sprinted towards the man. "Vlad! Stop!"

He sneered and held up a hand. "Come any closer and the mermaid gets it."

Danny froze in the sand. "Why are you doing this? How is hurting Sam going to help you in the long run?"

Vlad eyed the young prince. "If I reveal that mermaids do exist, then I'll be rich. It doesn't matter if the mermaid is dead or alive. So if you want her to keep breathing, I suggest not taking another step."

"Ugh, you're such a fruit loop! How do I even know she's in there?"

The advisor growled at the boy's comment. "You want to see the girl?" he opened the sack and pulled Sam out from the torso up. "Here's your proof."

Danny chewed his lip in thought. He baited the man enough to get her out of the bag, so now what? He glared at the man before him. "Okay, Vlad, I believe you. Just hand her over, and you can leave without incident."

He chuckled. "Do you think I'm an idiot, boy?"

The prince shrugged. "I was hoping?"

"You don't even have the authority to make such a decision. You have no power over me. Whether you like me or not, I currently still work for the kingdom. I can still give orders to underlings. I can tell them that you're a traitor," he replied. The evil man didn't even notice the mermaid beginning to stir from the sack she had been trapped in.

It didn't go unnoticed by the prince, however. Danny scoffed. "What makes you think they'll believe you? _I'm_ the crown prince, so shouldn't they believe in me over you?"

Vlad pinched the bridge of his nose. "You truly are ignorant, my boy, but that doesn't stop me from taking this matter into my own hands."

"I won't let you hurt, Sam. You won't touch another hair on her head!"

"I'll do more than that. Unless you listen."

Danny glanced down at the sack in which Sam lie before he gave a defeated sigh. "What do you want?"

He grinned. "I knew you'd make the right choice. Here are your options: if you try to stop me, then she dies and becomes seafood to study. If not, then you can visit her in the aquarium."

"Never! Sam belongs in the ocean where she can be free."

He clasped his hands together. "However, there is a third option. If you bring your father out here and he announces you as a traitor while handing the kingdom over to me only then will I let her go, but only if I get everything I want. If not then the fish girl gets it."

"Over my dead body," the prince barked.

"That can be arranged."

"Stop!"

Both males paused at the sound of the mermaid's voice.

Sam gazed up at the advisor. "I will go with you. You can get your fortune, okay? As long as you leave Danny alone. But first, please let me say goodbye."

"Sam. Don't—"

"Danny. Let me do this."

Vlad sighed in aggravation. "Fine, that's the deal, but make it quick."

In a flash, the prince was in the sand next to her. "Sam, don't sacrifice yourself for me."

She chuckled at him with a tilt of her head. "It's always my job to save you."

"Let _me_ save _you!_ " he insisted.

Sam snorted. "Well if you say so," with that she grabbed him by the cheeks and yanked him towards her. She pressed her lips to his as she captured him in quick kiss. Suddenly in a flash everything was different. Sam's hips and down flashed as her tail was transformed into two, very human, legs. A bright light shined through the sack. The prince noticed the unexpected energy and gazed at her curiously. She beamed at him.

"What was that!?" Vlad roared.

"Well it seems that my tail has vanished, and I'm human now," the princess replied with a grin.

Danny's eyes widened in surprise as the advisor began to seethe with rage. "How dare you, vile woman? I will kill you!" he screeched as he reached towards her.

The prince pounced between the advisor and the love of his life. "Like I said, over my dead body."

"Do you think I'm afraid of you, boy?"

He smirked. "Nope, but you should be afraid of them," he replied as he bobbed his head in the direction of the royal guards that stormed their direction.

The advisor turned to flee, but the guards immediately caught up with him. As the troops took the man away, Danny saw his sister sprinting towards him in the sand. The prince knelt down next his love as his sister approached. "Danny! Oh, my God! Is everything alright? Are you hurt? What did he do?"

He simply shook his head. "No harm done. Everything is clear. The guards took care of him. It was basically an empty stand off."

She let out a sigh of relief. "That's good to hear. I was so worried he'd hurt someone."

Danny bobbed his head before turning his attention to his (previously) mermaid with brows furrowed in concern. "Sam, what about you? Are you okay?"

She gave a nod. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Were you serious about what you said? Are you really…" he glanced up at Jazz who seemed confused. "Are you really not—who you were anymore?"

"It's true."

The prince gave a watery smile. "Does that mean—we can be together now?"

She grinned in return. "Yes."

He nearly jumped on her as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "Thank God. I love you so much."

Sam planted a kiss on his cheek. "I love you too."

Danny pulled away from her before tilting her chin up so their eyes can meet. "You don't know how long I've waited to hear you say that."

Jazz cleared her throat, and both teens glanced up at her, while they both seemed to be more wrapped up in each other. She tilted her head. "I assume I need to tell our parents of our new guest?"

The prince flushed as he realized he had blatantly confessed his love right in front of his sister. "Uh, y-yeah. If you could?"

The princess gave a nod and a wink as she strode off back towards the castle doors. Once she was gone, Sam all but tackled the boy into the sand. He fell back into the earth and immediately felt the grim climb into his clothes. He didn't mind though. He'd fall to the ends of the Earth with her.

"I was so scared," Danny admitted.

"Everything is okay now, Danny. We can be together, forever."

He craned his neck up and planted a sweet kiss on her nose. "Forever."


End file.
